FOR THE FIRST MASTER CLASS LECTURE OF THE YEAR, STUDENTS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT HAD THE PLEASURE OF WELCOMING PRODUCER DAN KOLSRUD AND SOUND PRODUCER VAL KUKLOWSKY.
After he graduated with a degree in English and a double major in film and television from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dan Kolsrud started his career directing live television in Baltimore, Boston and NYC.
Few years later, he moved to Hollywood to work on various feature films as a 1stAssistant Director, including Top Gun, The Goonies and Spaceballs, before he turned toward film producing. Amongst the films he produced are L.A. Confidential, Se7en and Identity Thief. Altogether the films Dan has worked on earned 24 Academy Award nominations with 3 Oscar wins!
Dan Kolsrud was accompanied by his good friend Val Kuklowsky, a veteran of Hollywood sound post-production whose long list of credits includes feature films such as Dazed and Confused, Independence Day, Jane Got A Gun, but also the worldwide reknown TV show Game of Thrones.
Apart from entertaining inside stories, our two guests gave the students a good insight into the Hollywood industry and the role of the producer.
Dan Kolsrud spoke of the importance of “casting your crew”, applying the same level of selectiveness and intelligence when it comes to finding the right crew for a specific project, as you would with casting actors. “It is very important to treat your selection of the crew the same way as you would your actors”.
The crew needs to be in balance, “you don’t want any area of the production, cinematography, set design, etc., to take the lead role despite of the whole thing”. Having one department lacking or simply not being the right one for the specific project can affect the story, which is the real final goal.
